A lawsuit has been filed in San Francisco against one of the longest-serving family jewellers in the United States after a customer, who alleges he was told he could climb a waiting list for a highly desirable Patek Philippe Nautilus by building up a purchasing history, was unable to buy it.
Californian newspapers report that Ali Rezaei, who wanted to buy a $109,000 gold Patek Philippe watch (Ref. 5980/1R-001) from Shreve & Co., had been told he would secure the timepiece as long as he built up a purchasing history of other, more attainable, watches and jewellery.
The lawsuit, registered with the San Francisco County Superior Court, alleges that Mr Rezaei was told by Shreve & Co. that he could secure the promised watch if he could build a relationship and purchasing profile with the retailer.
What he was not told, he alleges, is that Shreve & Co. kept dangling the carrot of the gold Nautilus if he continued spending, even though the jeweller had been informed by Patek Philippe that it was going to lose its agency as part of a programme to cut 30% of its worldwide doors.
Mr Rezaei’s filing says he followed the advice, buying a different gold Patek Philippe watch from Shreve, for $71,000.
He then reportedly bought a women’s Patek Philippe, encrusted with diamonds, for $50,000 and a second men’s piece for $47,000.
Following the sort of advice that is widely circulating on social media, he even bought a $53,000 gold and diamond necklace in March last year, the sort of purchase that deliver the highest profit margins to a jeweller.
Mr Rezaei accuses Shreve of falsely promising that this sort of purchasing would open the door to him buying the Patek Philippe Nautilus of his dreams.
His lawsuit says he spent over $220,000 building up his profile with the understanding, encouraged by Shreve & Co., that he would secure the golden Nautilus.
The case is complicated by the fact that Shreve & Co. is among the authorized dealers that have lost the agency of the watchmaker this year, so was ultimately unable to sell the watch to Mr Rezaei, even if it had wanted to.
According to documents filed with the San Francisco court, Shreve did not tell its sales associates or Mr Rezaei that it would be unable to sell Patek Phillipe.
Instead, Mr Rezaei alleges, Shreve strung him along to continue to reap additional sales revenue and deprived him of the watch he was promised.
His lawsuit accuses Shreve of fraud, false promise, breach of contract, and intentional and negligent misrepresentation.
He is seeking $500,000 in damages.
Patek Philippe has declined to comment on the case and Shreve & Co. has not responded to WatchPro questions.
I purchased my Datejust in 2020, just before grey market prices started to take off. I paid $1400 dollars more than dealer’s who were stuck selling at the factory’s mandated retail price of $6500. Clearly that $1400 dollars would not have made a dent in establishing a buying history to get the watch of my choice. Grey market will continue to exist until manufacturers wake up to the market disparity that continues today!